Pool Party
by Dubious Dane
Summary: There isn't enough Outlaw Star man smex out there, so I thought I'd leave this piece of rubbish up. Gene is invited to a pool party, hosted by Fred, of course. Hello, seduction. SHOUNEN AI


Author's Notes- Well well well… We have learned a VERY important lesson.

Yami- We…?

We in the imperial sense, of course.

Yami- -_- You're not imperial.

My ego thinks I am, so shush. ANYWAYS… that very important lesson… never let a slightly insane writer (i.e. me) watch four straight hours of an anime show (i.e. Outlaw Star) in which she has a very definite pairing (ipso facto FredxGene or vice-versa) that she is determined to convince the world of. *nod nod*

Yugi- Um, aren't you going to say why?

Oh. *blinks* Didn't I? Well. The reason why… the certain writer that watched those four straight hours of that certain anime with that certain pairing tends to get… story ideas, involving said pairing.

Yami- What's so bad about that?

Er, said story ideas are usually… rather odd. ^_^

Yugi- Meaning…?

Well, just look at the bloody title on this thing! I'm betting some poor putz cruising around the Outlaw Star section wasn't expecting anything along those lines. Anyways, shall we get on with it?

Disclaimer- Nope, don't own Outlaw Star, or any of its characters… a tragedy, really. I DO however, own myself, and since I get a cameo in nearly everything nowadays, I figure I should pop that in, eh?

Warning- YAOI CONTENT. TWO MEN IN LOVE WITH ONE ANOTHER.(were you expecting anything else?) Mainly FredxGene. Heck, probably only FredxGene, I may be giving myself a cameo, but a certain pharaoh will have to keep his nose out of this one. 

Yami- *mutters*

OH! I almost forgot! Ahem… anyways, this is mostly going to be a confession fic. Soooo.. you know what that means. NO REAL BACK-UP INFO! ^_^ Now, if you get to the end and decide that you simply MUST HAVE some of that info, just mention it in your review (hint hint, REVIEW) and I'll make an effort to write a lil' prologue-type-thing, k?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gilliam blinked. Well, blinked in the figurative term. Merely being a ship's computer did not give a piece of technology the ability to blink, no matter how advanced the Outlaw Star was. However, the general feeling of a confused blink was conveyed when said piece of technology received a transmission from the planet Heifong. 

"_Jim?"_ One of the many little mini-Gilliams cruised around on a maintenance rack, heading towards the blonde boy, who was currently fixing a power conduit. 

"Hm?" Jim replied distractedly, rummaging through the toolbox at his feet. "What?"

"_We appear to be receiving a transmission."_

"Oh." Jim turned away from the conduit. "Patch it through." As soon as the command was out of his mouth, a familiar smiling face appeared on a wall panel nearby. 

"Why hello James!"

"Fred?!" Jim blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly, then scowled. "What do you want?"

"My, aren't we testy today." An annoying little grin crept onto the merchant's face and stayed there. "However, I'm afraid my call was not really intended for you…"

"Gene?" Fred nodded, still grinning. Jim just sighed in response, seriously hoping he wouldn't get killed for what he was about to do. Of course, when he thought about it, it might be worth any sort of painful experience, just to hear Gene's shriek when he awoke to the smiling face of Fred in his room. Besides, the merchant wanted to talk to him, not Jim. (a/n- that rhymed… O_o Really, maybe I shouldn't write Outlaw Star stuff, I don't have a billion names to call people…) "All right… Gilliam, transfer the call to Gene's quarters."

"_Are you sure, Jim?"_ The mini-Gilliam bounced nervously. "_I believe he's still asleep, and he's rather, er, irritable when woken…"_

"Just do it." Figuring his point would be gotten across much better if he just ignored the cheery face on the wall panel, Jim returned to his repairs. 

__

"All right. Mr. Luo, do not blame me if Gene is angry at you and Jim."

"Now why would he be mad at me?" However impossible it seemed, Fred's grin appeared to grow. Jim rolled his eyes before the merchant's face disappeared from the screen. Now all he had to do was wait for the scream…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gene muttered, rolling over in his sleep. He had a nagging feeling that he should be waking up sometime soon, but it was nothing he couldn't ignore. A small sound registered somewhere in the back of his mind, making one eye open tiredly. It scanned his small quarters, looking for something that seemed out of place. Nothing… nothing… nothing… Fred… nothing… nothing… Wait, _FRED?!_

"Good morning Gene!"

Both of the red-head's eyes shot open at this, and Gene nearly yelped in surprise. Quickly regaining his composure, he managed to sit up in bed and manage some sort of glare. "What the hell do you want, Fred?!" In reality, being woken up by Fred didn't at all annoy the pilot, which confused him horribly. So, in his mind, it was best to go with a common reaction, so as not to rise suspicion. 

The dark-haired merchant didn't respond immediately, instead tugging at his right ear, as was his habit. Somewhere, something in the back of Gene's mind subtly noted a certain level of cuteness in the action, which downright scared the living crap out of him. _Cute?! Since when do I think of Fred like that?!?! I don't like men, damnit! _(a/n- now, that WOULD be a cliché line of thought for this particular pairing, but considering the number of FredxGene fics I've found, I don't think it can quite be considered cliché yet… let's see… what was it? a grand total of THREE)

"Well, really, I called as a sort of invitation…"

"Invitation?" Gene ran a hand through his hair, trying to get his thoughts in order. "To what?"

"A pool party, actually." Fred smiled broadly, and continued when Gene did not respond. "You see, as you probably know, my business has started a branch on Heifong, and as I was over here checking over things, I happened to run into a member of the family." He tugged on his ear again. (a/n- you can just SEE my cameo coming on, can't ya?) "I don't get to see her much, which is a real shame, considering we were actually quite close when we were younger. Anyway, getting back on topic, I had the idea to host a party for her."

"A party?" Gene belatedly realized he was wearing nothing but his underwear, and tried to discreetly pull his sheet up around his chest. "Why?"

Fred just shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea, at the time. Now, however, I'm beginning to have doubts… I had forgotten she wasn't very social." The merchant grinned sheepishly. "I really do hope she won't hurt me because of it. I considered canceling, but then even more people would be angry with me." Again, he shrugged. "I had meant to send you an invite earlier, but there was no way to get it to you other than this… Besides, how could I pass up an opportunity to see you?" A decidedly devious twinkle appeared in Fred's eyes. 

For once, Gene was somehow not disturbed by his friend's obvious flirting. Luckily, he wasn't much focusing on what his normal reactions should be; his mind was, for once, trying to plan ahead. Considering its lack of experience in this area, it was having some difficulties. "When is it?"

"Oh, you're accepting? I thought I'd have to do at least a little persuading…" The devious twinkle kicked up a few notches. This whole thing was going much better than Fred could have ever hoped, and that wasn't including the rather scantily clad Gene. That was an added bonus. A very large added bonus. 

"When, Fred."

Grinning, the merchant slowly held up two fingers. "Two days from now." (a/n- oh, I sooo stole that from Gravitation… Think I should have had Fred pull a gun on him, like K? ^_^) "As I said, I would have tried to reach you earlier…"

"I'll be there." Gene really had no idea why he was agreeing. Something about seeing the dark-haired merchant in person again made a tingle creep up his spine. 

"Wonderful! I'll give the coordinates of the location to your ship's computer. I'll see you then." With one last broad smile, Fred's cheery face disappeared from the screen. 

As soon as he was gone, Gene flopped back on his bed. Really, this was beginning to evolve into something. Lately, whenever he had gone to visit Fred in need of supplies, he had noticed something. Each time, he minded the merchant's flirting less and less. Hell, he'd even come to the point where he enjoyed it. He made doubly sure never to let it show, but it was, on some level, freaking him out. He wasn't exactly prone to liking men. Very much the opposite, really. 

__

I'm losing my mind… At first, he had been telling himself it had something to do with being out in space so long, the only women nearby quite out of reach, or, in certain cases, out of reach _purposely. _Unfortunately for his poor, confused mind, that was not the case.

__

All right. Let's run through this. Gene stood and began to get dressed while thinking. _This is nothing. I don't like men, especially not Fred. I've just gotten… used to him, that's all. When someone's your friend, you don't mind their annoying habits anymore… right? _No, that wasn't it. As previously mentioned, it had gone far beyond the 'not minding' stage. In fact, it had passed that stage in a blur. Now it was somewhere between 'liking' and 'my God if I don't see his gorgeous face looking in my direction soon I'm going to go nuts'. 

The redhead came dangerously close to bashing his head against the wall at that last thought. _What the fuck is wrong with me?!_ (a/n- my my, language... well, Gene curses, it's only correctly representing the characters ^_^) Rubbing his face with both hands, he found it to be quite warm. _Shit… I wasn't… blushing, was I?!_

Well, he would be soon if he didn't watch it. Taking a deep breath, Gene exited his room, wondering how exactly he was going to explain to Jim that he needed to be at Heifong in two days. Somehow, he didn't think the reason that was on his mind would come across that well. _"Yea, you see, lately, I think I've kinda fallen in love with Fred, no big deal."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fred was still smiling to himself as the vid-screen switched off. He was partly surprised the object of his affections had so readily agreed; really, he didn't have to do any convincing whatsoever! _All the better…_ The merchant tugged on his ear thoughtfully. Perhaps… was it possible that after all this time, Gene was actually warming up to him?

"How'd it go?" A feminine voice asked from behind him. He didn't bother turning around, he knew who it was; the only person with the guts to come in his office when he strictly forbade anyone to enter under penalty of extreme pain, at the least. "Hm?"

"Quite well, I think." Fred shrugged. "He agreed at least, and wasn't nearly as hesitant about speaking to me as he usually is." He spun around in his chair, facing his cousin. "You know, I did say that no one was to enter."

"Ah. Well, when you said no one, I caught the subliminal message."

"Which was?"

"Oh, something along the lines of 'no one is to enter except for my dear cousin who is going to try and help me catch the man I'm in love with.'" 

"Ah, nothing to do with 'cousins with lock picks and entry codes excluded'?" Fred grinned at the young woman, who tugged on a strand of blue hair sheepishly.

"Well, that too." She plopped down in a chair in front of the merchant's desk. "Or maybe the fact that you owe me anyway, considering you KNOW I don't like parties."

Fred shrugged innocently. "It slipped my mind, it appears." He raised an eyebrow. "And besides, I should think that you'd be used to parties by now."

"No, see, novelists have the option of turning down invitations. We're not social people by nature, no one really expects us to come." The young woman leaned forward. "So, would you care to elaborate on how it went, or do I have to sit here and guess?"

"But there's nothing to elaborate on!" This comment was met with a skeptical look. "Oh, well, I sort of woke him up… so he wasn't wearing much." Fred grinned at the memory, gaining a laugh from his cousin. "And, unless I'm gravely mistaken, I think I caught a hint of a blush."

"Well, that's progress if I ever saw, or heard, of it." This time it was the young woman who grinned. "Maybe this party won't be a total bugger after all."

"Bugger?"

"Oh, can it. When you have a major in English, you can use any bloody word you want."

Fred just smiled. "I suppose." Reaching across his desk, he typed a code into a small panel, causing another screen to fizzle into life. "However, I do have work to do…" He raised an eyebrow when the young woman across from him made no move to get up and leave. "You'll be bored."

"I'll be bored regardless. At least this way, I'll have some blackmail material if anyone ever double-crosses me."

"Your logic never fails to amaze me."

"Yea, great isn't it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Heifong?!" Jim dropped the box he was carrying and climbed out of the cargo hold to give Gene a look. "Why the hell do you need to go to Heifong?" The red-head didn't answer, instead staring fixedly at a spot on the wall. 

"Oh, we're going somewhere new?" Melfina stuck her head out of the kitchen, a potato in one hand and a vegetable peeler in the other. "What's going on?" This, of course, caught Suzuka's attention as well, so the deadly assassin just had to make her appearance. 

"Heifong, Gene? What's on Heifong?" Her voice was as cool and level as always, the questioning tone barely recognizable. 

"Heifong, all right?!" Gene was beginning to wonder if he would be able to get away clean with all this. He'd have to work out a good lie to be able to fool everyone. "Fred called." Perhaps he could just leave it at that.

"Fred Luo?" Suzuka arched an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything? If my observations are correct, you only go to him when you need parts." She knocked on a wall with a fist. "The Outlaw Star appears to be in decent shape."

"_She is correct, Gene._" A mini-Gilliam cruised up, making the red-headed pilot wonder how big an audience he was going to get. "_The Outlaw Star does not appear to need any parts. Why should Mr. Luo's call cause you to leave suddenly?_"

__

Aw crap. Gene searched his mind, desperate to scrap up anything that would some how give him an excuse to just run off without warning. Nothing incredibly intelligent came to mind, so he decided to take a risk and wing it. "I ordered a part from Fred a long time ago, and he's finally managed to get a hold of it. He's on Heifong right now, checking up on a branch of his business. I figured I could drop by and get it before it's too far out of the way."

Jim raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. He was, of course, unaware of any such part. Attempting to give his friend the benefit of a doubt, he examined the possibility that Gene could have ordered said part while he was elsewhere. It was plausible, however unlikely. But really, why else would Gene be paying an unexpected visit to Fred? "…Ok…"

Gene let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. If he could fool Jim, he could fool anyone on the ship. Rather, if he could fool Jim, no one else mattered. The blonde was the one who could see through his obvious lies, and even the less-obvious ones with ease. If the story had worked on him, it would have worked on everyone else. Hopefully. 

"Oh, ok, I'll just get back to dinner…" Melfina retreated to the kitchen once again, and the sounds of pots clanking against one another was soon heard. Shrugging, Jim returned to the cargo hold, pausing momentarily to grab a wrench from a toolbox he had sitting by. Suzuka, however, remained. 

"What?" Gene crossed his arms, trying to look annoyed. He didn't have to try that hard. What did the assassin have on him? She, of all people, wouldn't suspect… would she? He had saved Fred's life from her sword… No, that couldn't have been it. Even he hadn't identified that nagging feeling in the back of his head that popped out around the merchant then, how could she? No, that definitely wasn't it. Something else…? "Well?!"

"Why do you truly need to go to Heifong?" It was infuriating, the way her voice could stay in that same calm, even tone whenever she cared it to. Gene waited for her to continue with an accusation, but when nothing came, he scowled. 

"What do you mean? I just told you! All of you!" Perhaps his lie wasn't as fool-proof as he had hoped…? _Crap. _

"What you told us, the others shall believe. It is what they want to believe, let them." Suzuka shifted her weight to one side, and didn't continue until she was settled. "I, on the other hand, desire a reason with truth backing it up." Gene's left eye twitched, but he managed to keep any other bodily reactions under control. 

"What the hell?" Maybe if he covered his shock with a normal reaction, it'd pass. Doubtful. "Why the hell would I lie? You know Fred called, I wasn't making that up! Ask Jim." Hm, he wasn't using enough curses. She was bound to get suspicious. "Fuck." Ah, that was better.

"I never said Fred did not call." The nerve of that woman, now she was smiling. "I said that the reason you supplied was false. Now, if you please, I would like the real reason. It can not be that important, if the cause is Fred's call." Despite his attempts to prevent it, Suzuka caught the look on Gene's face when she hinted that the merchant was not important. "Or, perhaps I am wrong. It _is_ important, is it not?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you?!" Now Gene was getting irritated. What right had she to pry into his personal life?! And besides, what could he tell her? _'Why yes, as a matter of fact, I WAS lying. I'm really going to Heifong just to see Fred, because I have a lurking suspicion I'm in love with him, no matter what I say.'_ Yes, that'd be sure to work. And even if it did, no one would ever let him live it down.

"May I hazard a guess?" When Gene didn't stop her, the assassin continued. "Fred Luo is in love with you, correct?" The red-head grunted a reply. "Yes, it shows whenever he is around you. And, as it often appears, you are not comfortable with this?" Silence. "Ah, so that is it." She turned as if to leave.

"What?! What's it? What the hell are you trying to say?!" An arm shot out of its own accord, snatching Suzuka's shoulder. He shouldn't have bothered. It must have been obvious what his course of action would be; she had dodged before his arm was halfway across the distance between the two. With a few muttered swears, Gene brought the arm back to his side. "Damnit, don't just walk off!"

"I did not say anything." Suzuka's back was to him, but he head her voice clearly. "Nor was I trying to say anything. I merely am aware now of the cause of your abrupt need for departure." She took a step, then another, but suddenly had another thought which proved leaving non-beneficial. "Though I am rather curious as to why you failed to inform the rest about it. Lies only hide the truth for so long." (a/n- hmmm… I dunno, I think I'm making Suzuka's speech too intelligent… dearie me) With that, she was gone, leaving Gene in stunned silence. 

__

She doesn't know. The thought wasn't true. He knew it wasn't true. But still, it couldn't hurt to hope. _She doesn't know. _ But she did. She as good as said it. _Damnit. _Now what was he supposed to do? Gene leaned against the wall, thinking. She didn't have any proof. And even if she did, what would she have to gain by telling? _Nothing. _ Or so he hoped. _Damnit damnit DAMNIT._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Fred, you're insane!" The blue-haired young woman clutched her head in both hands, looking around as if she was surveying the wreckage of her home. "What the hell IS all of this?!"

"Hm? All of what?" Fred glanced up from his laptop, fingers still tapping at the keys. "What are you talking about?" Figuring an answer would come eventually, his eyes once again moved to the screen in front of him. 

"All of THIS!" His cousin waved both arms around, indicating anything and everything. "You've got bloody CATERERS for this thing! I don't even LIKE parties, and you're going through all of this crap!" Her hands returned to her head, which she began shaking. "And people think I get too excited about things…"

"Too excited? Nonsense. I've had far more extravagant parties than this."

"Not helping."

"Sorry." Hitting the enter key, Fred clicked his laptop shut. "But really, what did you want me to do? The entire family is coming!" He paused, knowing this wasn't correct. "All right, most of the family is coming. At least, the portion that was available and somewhat nearby. Not to mention a few very prominent clients."

"I'm going to kill you for using me as an excuse for all of this chaos." The dark-haired merchant grinned sheepishly. 

"Oh come now, you said yourself that you admired the pool!"

"For SWIMMING in, not for using during parties!" The young woman collapsed into a chair. "I'm going to go into my room, lock the door, and not come out for anything."

"Oh, surely you can't mean that." Fred stood up slowly, raising both arms above his head to stretch. "Really, I should be thanking you, a pool party is the perfect excuse to get Gene here, shirtless." The merchant paused. Honestly, the idea had never occurred to him until now. It was a very pleasing thought, all the same. 

"Ah ha, so the truth comes out." His cousin made as if to add on to the statement, but instead rolled her eyes. "How about we say I suddenly came down with a severe fever…"

"No, someone might want to check on you."

"Damnit." She thought for a moment. "Pressing business matters caused me to have to leave immediately?"

"You're a novelist, what pressing business matters am I supposed to explain to everyone?"

"Damnit again. What about-" She was cut off by the sound of an alarm on Fred's desk. "What's that?"

"Front desk." The merchant pressed a previously hidden button. "Yes, what is it?"

"Mr. Luo, Gene Starwind is here." There was a tone in the young desk clerk's voice that indicated she knew why exactly it was important that this particular guest be announced. Everyone in Fred's employment knew of the man's feelings for a certain red-haired pilot. 

"Ah. Send him in." Another button pressed, and the transmission was cut off. The merchant's cousin wondered exactly how many buttons Fred had on his desk, but this time it was her thoughts that were interrupted. Behind her, the large oaken door to Fred's office opened with a creak. "Ah, Gene!" She was amazed at how fast the merchant managed to leave his seat and cross the room. 

The person that entered the room was a young man with shocking red hair, who looked rather nervous. Well, perhaps nervous wasn't the best word. Anxious? Maybe even excited, but not sure he should be? _So THAT'S Gene Starwind._ The blue-haired young woman had about an instant to try and sum up this newcomer by his looks before he was blocked from view. Fred was hugging the young man tightly.

"It's wonderful to see you!" The merchant's cousin blinked in confusion as Gene was reluctantly released from Fred's grip. She had been told, by nearly everyone, that the red-head was uncomfortable about Fred's public displays of affection. Despite this, the redhead had looked disappointed, however briefly, when the merchant had let him go. "I'm so glad you could make it!" (a/n- yech, I'm running out of ideas, so if this suddenly starts getting rather bad, you know why)

"Yea." Gene stared at the ground for a moment, looking as though he was fighting himself internally. When he looked up, his deep-blue eyes locked onto Fred's. "So." It didn't sound like a complete statement, but it didn't appear the pilot was in any hurry to add onto it. Sensing Gene's lack of comfort, Fred quickly jumped to another topic. 

"Ah, let me introduce you to my cousin!" Taking the young man by the hand, he led him over to the blue-haired female. "Gene, this is Sage Hageshii." (a/n- as if you didn't see that coming) Sage stood up slowly, finally sticking out a hand of her own for Gene to shake. He did so, but, the young woman noticed, with his free hand, not seeming to want to let go of Fred with the other. He apparently realized this at the same moment Sage did, and swiftly managed to release Fred and stick the hand in his pocket. 

"Hey, nice to meet you and all that, but I'm not really a people person, so don't feel the need to strike up a conversation with me or anything." Hooking both thumbs in her own pockets, Sage gave her cousin a look. "Now, since there's no way I can escape this bloody party, I have to go change, and think up various ways to make Fred pay for putting me through this. Ciao." With that, she was gone, the small grin on her face seen by no one. 

Gene was silent for a moment. "Sage Hageshii? That name sounds familiar… Isn't she that controversial novelist?" Fred nodded with a smile. "Just checking."

The merchant gestured for him to sit down before returning to his own seat. "Yes, we appear to be among the more well-off in the family." He shrugged. "When you have money, no one really cares about your personal life." Gene sat down warily, looking at Fred with an expression that suggested he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do next. "Something on your mind?"

"Me? No… Not really." This was definitely new. Gene wasn't supposed to be shy or nervous. Fred noted this, and hoped it was something more than the red-head's usual withdrawn-ness around him. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to get some kind of conversation going. Gene was thinking much along the same lines. 

"Do you need to change?" It seemed a safe enough question. However, Gene nearly fell out of his seat, causing Fred to blink in confusion. 

"Ch-change?" The pilot settled himself back in the chair, making a real attempt to get his over-active imagination back in check. "What?" Hm, again with the lack of his ever-present cursing. This time, however, he couldn't bring himself to say anything vulgar. 

"Well, you don't appear to be wearing a swimsuit, and this IS supposed to be a pool party…" The merchant paused at the confused look on Gene's face. "Oh dear, I did tell you, didn't I?" Gene slowly shook his head, and Fred all but smacked himself in the head. "I'm terribly sorry, I could have sworn I mentioned it." He thought for a moment, unaware of the sharp blue gaze that rested on him. "Would you mind horribly borrowing one of my suits?"

__

Me. In Fred's pants. Gene mentally gave his dirty mind a swift kick. _What the hell is wrong with me?! It was a perfectly innocent offer!_ But the thing was, he wasn't all too sure he preferred an innocent offer. He suffered another sharp mental kick before he managed to shake his head. "I don't mind." He wasn't saying as much as he usually did. Would Fred notice…?

"Wonderful." Reaching out, the dark-haired merchant typed a code into a number panel beneath his desk, a soft click confirming that the locks had been set. It was wonderful to have such a high-tech desk. Standing, he beckoned for Gene to follow and headed for the door to his office. Gene rose from his seat jerkily, wondering where exactly they were going. Without knowing it, he voiced the question. 

"Oh. Well, you see, there are a few guest-rooms situated in this facility, and since I've been here for a while, I've been staying in one of them. My cousin is in another, and I believe there is at least one more that's open." He shrugged as he walked. "It's quite convenient, actually. Hotels get annoying after a while."

"Yea." Gene wondered what exactly was holding his vocal chords hostage. Of course, he had an idea of what it was. It was a feeling involving a phrase that started with 'I'. Ended with 'Fred.' Had one word in the middle. And right now, it was the one thing that he could not bring himself to confess. What if the merchant had just been teasing him? What would happen when everyone else found out? He was supposed to like _women._

__

Well, have you ever been in love before? An annoying voice in the back of his head asked. _No, I don't think so. Women don't hold anything for you, apparently. _What the hell?! That was going too far. Gene scowled, hoping the annoying voice got the message. "Something wrong?" Crap. Apparently the wrong party got the message. Fred sounded… hurt almost. 

"Huh? Oh, no, I just…" The pilot searched for an answer. "I'm just pissed off at myself for being such an idiot." Fred smiled softly, before turning to a door to his left and typing in a code into yet another number panel. Had Gene been paying attention, he would have heard the whispered 'Idiot? I think not…'

With a hiss, the metal door slid open, revealing a neat room. Well, neat in a general sense anyways. The bed's coverings were mussed, and a few articles of clothing were hung haphazardly over a chair. Still, it was neat compared to what Gene was used to. The redhead looked around, eyes taking in everything. Something about being in Fred's room, alone with Fred himself, made an exciting tingle creep up his spine. "Here you go."

Gene was hit full in the face by a pair of crimson swim trunks. "What the hell?!" He tugged the trunks off his head to see a laughing Fred. 

"I'm sorry, I thought you were paying attention!" The merchant seemed to find the situation very funny indeed. Finally managing to calm himself, he pointed to another door. "You can change in the bathroom, I'll just change in here."

Again, that annoying voice popped in with a few comments about Fred getting changed, but Gene managed to quash it down. Temporarily. Nodding, he quickly crossed the room, nearly dashing into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. _What the hell is wrong with me?! I'm going crazy! He hasn't even flirted with me yet… NO! That's not why!_

Oh, but it is. Gene muttered a few well-chosen curses under his breath. This was going to kill him eventually. Something needed to be done. _Yes indeed. _That was it. Something clicked inside his mind. He needed to confess his love. _Who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks?! That's never stopped me from doing anything before. _The Outlaw Star's pilot inhaled deeply, trying to calm his raging nerves. _Change. Then go out and say something._ Yes, that seemed like a good plan. Now, if only he could manage to carry out that second part without problem…

Without a second thought, Gene stripped, quickly pulling on the borrowed swimsuit. Turning, he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. The suit matched his hair, almost identically. _Nice. _Absently, he reached up and ran a thumb over the star on his shoulder. _Now or never. More than likely that last one. _

His hand stopped on the doorknob. _I'm not brave enough for this. _Turning once again to the mirror, he scowled at his reflection. _If I don't do something, I'm going to go insane. I love Fred. Plain and simple, no matter what I've said before. God damnit. _Love was a bitch. Whoever had said that was a genius. _Damnit damnit DAMNIT. _

Another deep breath and his hand began to turn. The motion was excruciatingly slow, but Gene couldn't bring himself to speed it up much. When the latch finally clicked open, he tugged lightly. The door swung open faster than he had expected, and nearly ran over his toes. _Smart. _Exiting the cursed bathroom (what he had now decided to call it), the pilot searched the room for Fred. The merchant was tugging on a loose, button-up indigo shirt, swiftly covering his pale back. Gene caught himself staring in time, and was able to look nonchalant as Fred turned to him. "Ready?"

In reality, Fred was now just as nervous as the redhead. Sure, at first he had been as cool as a cucumber, but now… Gene was acting strangely. Now, there were two explanations for acting strangely. One was good, one was bad. 50-50 chance. Unfortunately, the cynical part of Fred's mind had taken over, and was muttering darkly about it being the less pleasant explanation. 

However, amazingly enough, that wasn't the worst of his problems. Something had just occurred to the merchant. Something very pressing. Gene was in his room. Willingly. He turned that thought over in his mind, wondering what to do with it. Gene probably wouldn't appreciate it if he was suddenly jumped on, and that's what the non-cynic part of Fred's mind was suggesting. Somehow, it didn't seem as if it would work. 

"Er, yea." _Ready. Yea, sure. Is he going to button up his shirt…?_ The mental question was answered as Fred smiled, nodded, and turned to the door, not making any moves towards the open front of his shirt. _Fuck, he has a nice body. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sage wasn't used to parties. Well, not 'wasn't used to', per se. More like wasn't used to having them thrown for her. That was the definite change. People kept walking up to her, shaking her hand, and trying to make polite conversation. She couldn't STAND polite conversation. Boring was describing it too kindly. When she saw her cousin walk out onto the pool deck, she had a mind to leap for his throat. 

However, upon seeing who was with him, she just grinned conspiratorially and pushed her sunglasses a bit further up on her nose. Well, that was one fun thing. Hooking people up was always amusing, as long as no one ever thought to do it to her. Reaching down, she grabbed her drink off the table and took a long drink. Well, the bartender at least had been a good idea. He made damn good strawberry daiquiris. (a/n- yuuummm.. hum, that reminds me, I should go make one… back! Yum ^_^)

"Ah, there's my cousin." Fred pointed the blue-haired young woman out to Gene, who privately wondered if it was really needed. Similar to her all-black ensemble earlier, her swim-suit, shirt, and shorts were all, of course, black. Not to mention the bright blue hairs. She stood out like a sore thumb. "You might want to go sit with her for a bit; I have a feeling that some of these people won't let me be until I talk with them." As if on cue, a small group of important-looking guests bustled over. Yes, bustled. People like those at this party congregated and then proceeded to bustle around, as if looking for some kind of protection. 

Of course, the group crowded around Fred, quite purposely shunting Gene away from the merchant. Rich people had a sort of radar it seemed: if you didn't have money, you were to be tagged, labeled, and taken far away as soon as possible. _Ah. _Gene thought, rather put-out. _Now I remember. THAT'S what I hate about rich people. _In fact, the only person who didn't seem to be gossiping with others in a crowd was Fred's cousin. So, Gene took his advice, somehow managing to navigate his way through the teeming crowds and wind up at the young woman's table. 

"Yea, I hate them too." Gene blinked. She seemed to have read his mind. Unsure of how to respond, he sat down slowly. "Of course, I'm not a big fan of people in general, so that's probably not saying much." Another blink was her answer. "Sorry, did I come off too bitchy?" (a/n- hum, I don't usually cuss this much in stories, but I figure if Gene's in it, what the hey)

Although he wasn't sure if the action was wise, Gene suddenly burst out laughing. When he finally got himself under control, he found Sage giving him an odd, if not amused, look. "You're not what anyone would expect, are you?" She grinned. 

"No, not at all." Sage took a sip of what appeared to be a strawberry daiquiri. "If I acted how people expected, it'd be entirely too boring." She took another sip, looking at Gene over her glass. He felt as if he were being weighed up. 

"What?" The glass lowered, and the young woman waved a hand.

"Nothing, just… yea, nothing." Sage tilted her head to the side a bit, as if considering something. "I kind of feel sorry for you, you don't seem to be the kind of person who enjoys things like this." She waved her hand again, indicating their entire surroundings, which, of course, were still filled with people who had decided that talking loudly and stupidly was some kind of sport. 

"It's not that bad." Absently, Gene let his eyes drift over to the group of people that surrounded Fred. He stared for a moment, trying to pick out the navy head of hair. Sage grinned once more. This was going to be easier than she had thought. (a/n- this is getting BOOORING… feel free to skip to the confession if you'd like) 

"Poor Fred, I might just cut him some slack, considering he's getting mobbed far more than I am." Sage took another drink as Gene turned to look at her. Putting down her glass, she slowly turned her head in his direction. "I'm surprised you came. Fred was worried that you'd turn down his invitation." Truth, the novelist had found, often worked the best. 

"He was?" _Of course he was you dolt, and that's YOUR fault. _Gene scowled. It was indeed. "Obviously, I didn't."

"Obviously." Sage considered the reply for a moment. She could worm anything out of anybody, given she had an ample amount of free time on her hands. (a/n- mainly because I'm stubborn as hell… eh heh) She drummed her fingers on the tabletop, wondering how exactly to approach this. "Ah, it looks like he's gotten free…" Sage noted the immediate change in Gene's features: slightly annoyed to cheerful in .5 seconds flat. Turning around, her attention back to her cousin, she winced. "Or not. Another crowd has him now."

"Fuck." Then from cheerful to depressed. Amazing. Gene let his head drop onto his arms and sighed deeply. "Damnit.."

"Something wrong?" He didn't look up, so Sage considered poking him. Before she had reached a decision, however, he had muttered something in reply. "Eh?"

"None of your fucking business." The blue-haired young woman merely burst out laughing at this. Gene looked up in confusion, blinking. Usually people got mad when he blew them off. This was definitely something new. 

"No, now you have to tell me. I won't leave you alone until you do." Getting nothing in reply, Sage dipped two fingers into her drink, pulled them out, and flicked the pink liquid at Gene. "Tell me." 

The redhead scowled, wiping the drops of daiquiri from his face. "Why the hell do you want to know?"

"You've sparked my curiosity. Now tell me." Sage's fingers hovered over her glass in a threatening manner. When Gene merely continued scowling, she grabbed the entire thing and made as if to throw it on his face. 

"All right, ALL RIGHT!" Grinning deviously, the novelist lowered her weapon. "Damn you anyway…" The grin didn't leave her face. "Fuck." Gene ran a hand through his hair absently, realizing just how much trouble he was in. "If you tell anyone, ANYONE, I swear I'll kill you."

"Who would I tell?"

"Just don't."

"Fine. I won't. You have my word. Now tell me." 

"…."

"Oh, you SO can NOT back out now." Sage reached for her glass once more, but thought better of it, pulling her hand away. "All right. Fine. I'll just go get Fred and bring him over here to weasel it out of you." Pushing her chair back, she began to stand. 

"You wouldn't dare!" The blue-haired young woman noted the fear on Gene's and absently sat down.

"I wouldn't? That's news to me." She drummed her fingers on the table once, twice. "I'm not know for being the nicest of people." Her fingers rained down on the table again, creating a series of thumps. "I mean it, I'll go get hi-"

"I'm in love with Fred."

The words came out in a rush, making them difficult to be understood. The fact that Gene's face was buried in his hands while he said it didn't help matters much. Nevertheless, Sage felt she had a general idea of what had been said. She didn't reply immediately. 

After a few moments, Gene realized nothing had been said after his little outburst. Carefully, not sure he'd like what he'd see, he slowly raised his face from his hands, sharp blue eyes moving from the table to the face of the young woman across from him. He didn't know what to expect: disgust, ridicule, maybe an eye roll?

What he saw was merely a thoughtful expression. Sage was running a finger around the rim of her glass, her chin resting in her free hand who's elbow was propped up on the table. Her pale blue eyes were staring at him with an air of indecision. "What." The word came out as a barely audible grunt. 

"Oh, nothing much." Her chin was still in her hand. "I just can't decide whether I should hit you over the head, cheer a bit, or do both." Well that wasn't expected. Figuratively, Gene's jaw dropped to the ground. In reality, it didn't reach near that far, but made a serious effort. 

"What the fuck?!"

"What did you expect me to do? Freak out on you? Have you _read_ any of my books?!" At the look on the pilot's face, Sage brought her tone down a bit. "What I want to know is, why the _hell_ are you telling me this? He's right over there, and he's-"

"You think I don't want to tell him? You think it'd be _easy_?!"

"Quit cutting me off." Bringing her other elbow to rest on the table, Sage moved her chin to rest on that hand. "You might be interested in what I have to say. Fred's so deeply in love with you it's not even funny you moron." Gene opened his mouth again, but she didn't even let him start. "Yes, he is. Believe me. I know the difference. Don't ask me how, I just do."

Somehow, Gene's face found his hands again, and decided to renew an old acquaintance. "That's why I was afraid to tell him. I thought people were… might be just saying that to piss me off. Annoy me. I don't know." He groaned. "I'm supposed to like women anyway, damnit."

"Oh, cry me a fucking river." Gene glanced up at this. "Yes, I can swear just as well as you can." (a/n- I can too, and I do quite a bit… eh heh) The blue haired woman raised both arms above her head, stretching. "I swear, you had better tell him. It killed him every time you brushed him off." She took note at the new expression inhabiting the redhead's face. "You know that."

"Yea, I do." Gene frowned, but it was more at himself than anyone else. "Like I said, I'm supposed to like _women._"

"Don't give me that crap." The pilot vaguely acknowledged that she might be able to swear _better_ than him. "You don't like Fred, do you?" This was met by a blink. "You love him. There's a difference, think about it." After some hesitation, this was met by a nod. "Now, come on." Sage stood up, tugging at her shirt which had temporarily slipped off one shoulder. Gene heard something muttered about 'damn pool parties' as he quickly jumped up to follow. 

"Wait, what the hell are we doing?" He had to jump into stride behind her to avoid running into stationary guests. He nearly collided with a few, who turned to sniff indignantly at him as he passed. He wasn't paying attention. "Answer me, damnit!"

"We're going to make your life a whole lot better." As Gene began to fall behind, Sage turned to grab him by the wrist and continued walking. "Come on."   


"What the fuck?!" It took the pilot a moment to comprehend that he was not in control of the situation. At all. He couldn't escape either; guests seemed to be crowding in on every side, blocking him in. Perhaps if he were to swear very loudly… Probably not. 

Just as he was about to make a last-ditch attempt to escape, it was too late. Sage had pushed her way through the crowd surrounding Fred and had hauled the merchant out of it. Fred blinked a few times, taking in both his cousin and her captive. "Sage? Gene? Is something wrong?"

"Depends on your idea of wrong." Hauling Gene up beside her, the blue-haired woman gave him a shove in Fred's direction. The redhead stopped just inches from colliding with the dark-haired merchant. "Gene has something to tell you, and I have a raging crowd of rich people to fight my way through to get back to my daiquiri. So, I'll leave you two alone." Taking a deep breath, Sage turned and dashed off, dodging between guests and quickly being lost from sight. 

"Gene?" Fred's voice was soft, meant only for him. "What is it?" _Holy shit I'm fucked up, just his voice is making me melt. _

"I…" Great start. Real go-getter. "Can we go inside? It's kind of…" A word, he needed a word that didn't sound obvious… "Private." Wonderful. Not. 

"Of course…" Less than a moment later, the two were inside, somehow back in Fred's room. Gene wondered briefly how they had ended up there, then realized with a lurch that he had led the way. _That's it, there's someone in my head doing my thinking for me._

Gene realized he was standing face to face with Fred, less than a foot away from him. The merchant's face was calm, if a bit confused. No doubt he hadn't been expecting anything like this. What was coming was really going to knock his socks off. What if…

__

"Fred's so deeply in love with you it's not even funny you moron." Sage's voice was so clear it was as if she was standing right next to him and shouting. Gene wondered why the hell her comments had so much affect on him. Maybe it was something about novelists. 

"Fred, I…" He was stuck. What now? _"Don't give me that crap."_ _Fuck, she's driven herself into my brain… _

"What?"

__

"You love him." I KNOW DAMNIT! There was simply no easy way to do this. Gene racked his brain, trying to find something, anything. Well, there was something… Mentally shrugging, Gene took the idea and tossed it into action. Leaning forward, he crushed his lips against Fred's, throwing his arms around the merchant's neck as he did so. _This feels so… right…_

After a few seconds, Gene pulled away. One thing left. "I love you." Somehow, the words were seemed so much easier to say once they had been already. "I love you Fred." Shocked silence followed, and the dark haired young man's eyes widened slightly. However, before Gene could pull away, Fred smiled broadly.

"Did you know, I love you too?" Without another word, Fred reached up to pull Gene in for another kiss, this time shock replaced by passion that had been penned up for who knows how long. 

__

Guess Sage was right… Gene thought vaguely before all of his mind was focused elsewhere. _Huh. Damn, Fred tastes _good. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Notes- WHEE! FINALLY! THE END! *dances* This was quite long, you know.

Yami- No kidding. *scowls*

Oh can it, you got the story that was 10 chapters plus an epilogue. Now, on a more interesting note, I WENT TO THE BON JOVI CONCERT YESTERDAY!!! WHEEE!!! *bursts out into song* BOUNCE! BOUNCE! NOTHING'S GONNA KEEP ME DOWN! BOUNCE! BOUNCE! STAND UP SHOUT IT OUT!!!

Yami- And I'm guessing you had a good time…?

I HAD A BLAST! IT WAS GREAT!!! ^_^ I got lotsa stuff too, and I got to see Richie and Jon man… *anime starry eyes* It was soooooo awesome….

Yami- Would you get back to the story?

Oh, fine fine. Someone had better IM me asking how the concert went though, I need to rant some more. ANYWAYS… well, heh, sorry about the cussing content here, but if you watch Outlaw Star, you should be fine with it… Yeeeeaaa. Ok, so, anyways, tell me if you want that prologue thing, and I might consider it… Oh, I was also considering an epilogue…

Yami- An EPILOGUE?! It's NOT OVER?!

Well, I thought that maybe I could write another lemon for it… eh heh.

Yami- BY RA!! ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE A LEMON FOR EVERY PAIRING EXCEPT YxY?! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!

Er, ignore the pharaoh… so, yea, tell me your thought on additions to this thing. ^_^ Ciao for now mes amis. 


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